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Manners and Politeness in Early Virginia Indian Society

Manners and politeness, as dictated by
custom, were an important aspect of early Virginia Indian society. What is known
about the subject is limited to the observations of Jamestown colonists, visiting English
observers, and later American historians, and is mostly applicable to the Algonquian-speaking Powhatan
Indians of Tsenacomoco, a paramount
chiefdom of twenty-eight to thirty-two groups in Tidewater Virginia. Although regulation among the
Virginia Indians tended to be informal, the line between good and bad manners was
nevertheless clear and the consequences for crossing it were severe. The Powhatans
did not tolerate interruptions in formal situations, and tended to refrain from
speaking until the appropriate moment. In instances of minor personal conflict, they
chose either to withdraw from the situation or to bear any imposition without
complaint. Powhatan society had various outlets for aggression and frustration, but
in the end, self-control, even under torture, was most valued. MORE...

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The Powhatan Indians were governed by customs that
regulated their behavior and defined good manners versus bad. These customs must have
been widely understood and were likely fairly strict. Despite the lack of written
laws or a police force, the Indians "seldom or never brawl," according to Edward Maria Wingfield,
the first president of the Virginia Council. In his History and Present
State of Virginia (1705), Robert Beverley Jr. wrote, "They are very severe in
punishing ill breeding, of which every Weroance [chief] is undisputed Judge, who
never fails to lay a rigorous penalty upon it."

An example of strictly enforced decorum can be found in the proceedings of the
council that advised the mamanatowick, or paramount chief.
According to the Reverend John
Clayton, writing in 1687, "The Junior [councillor] begins first &
delivers his sentiment without interruption." Each councillor speaks in his turn,
"thus orderly they every one declare their judgemts, & advice," only after which
the paramount chief speaks. When a chief met with a foreign dignitary, his entourage
sat in respectful silence. Beverley wrote of an occasion where a weroance was speaking formally to an English delegation in New Kent County: "and during the
time of his speech, one of his attendants presumed to interrupt him, which he
resented as the most unpardonable affront that could be offered him." The chief
responded to this affront by immediately killing the man, then continuing "on again
with his speech where he left off."

Custom dictated how people, even relatives, met after spending some time
apart. Travelers encountered along
the trail and newcomers arriving in Indian towns were treated the same: they were
seated in silence, offered a shared tobacco
pipe, and perhaps fed. Only
then did they speak, stating their business or exchanging news. The same decorum prevailed when a
family member returned after a long trip. Even if everyone was anxious to hear what
his or her relative had seen and learned, the group nevertheless allowed the returnee
to sit, relax, and perhaps eat before sharing his or her story. Such customs left
John Clayton with the impression that the Indians were "sluggish and slow of speech."
But in fact, haste in any of these instances would have amounted to disrespect. It
might also have caused misunderstanding and, with it, flared tempers.

Minor conflict was a regular feature of Indian life,
especially in towns where
people lived in close quarters and without much privacy. The proper response to such
incidents was to withdraw (a tactic much used in war, as well), but if that was not possible,
then the Powhatans preferred to remain stoic. Self-control—whether it be in not
interrupting, in not prematurely demanding a person to speak, or in not losing one's
temper—was an important ethic, and Powhatan society was equipped with various means
of controlling, appropriately venting, or sidestepping aggression. Married couples who did not get
along could obtain a divorce, for
instance. And dissatisfied wives could conduct extramarital affairs so long as they
were sanctioned by their husbands. Dancing was an important outlet for aggression and
frustration. In the evening, after finishing work and eating a meal, Powhatans
regularly played music and danced around a fire, activities that helped them get past the problems of the day.

For deeper grievances, though, there was the practice of taking enemies captive in
battle and, if they were male, torturing them to death. (Although never the subjects
of torture, women nevertheless participated in torturing others.) The victim was
expected to be utterly stoic while this was done. In fact, when captured Englishmen
cried out under torture, they were mocked by the Indians, whose traditions taught
them that such outbursts demonstrated weakness.

Cite This Entry

APA Citation:

Rountree, H. C. Manners and Politeness in Early Virginia Indian Society. (2014, May 30). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Manners_and_Politeness_in_Early_Virginia_Indian_Society.

Contributed by Helen C. Rountree, professor emerita of anthropology at Old Dominion University and author of Pocahontas's People: The Powhatan Indians of Virginia Through Four Centuries (1990) and Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown (2005).